Safety lockout for automatic reclosing switch gears



Nov. 2, 1954 R. M. SMITH 3,

SAFETY LOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOSING SWITCH GEARS Filed March 22, 19518 Street s-Sheet l INVENTOR. Roy 0;. s ur/i R. M. SMITH Nov. 2, 1954SAFETYLOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOSING SWITCH GEARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed March 22, 1951 INVENTQR. Pay m. 607 77,

Nov. 2, 1954 R. M. SMITH 2,693,514

SAFETY LOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOSING SWITCH GEARS Filed March 22, 19518 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Roy 01. Jm/IW R. M. SMITH Nov. 2, 1954 SAFETYLOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOSING SWITCH GEARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filedlarch 22, 1951 INVENTQR. 7 6m T/f Nov. 2, 1954 R. M. SMITH 2,693,514

I SAFETY LOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOSING SWITCH GEARS Filed March 22,1951 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. Roy m. 601/77! 2% Nov. 2, 1954 R. M.SMITH 2,693,514

SAFETY LOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOSING SWITCH GEARS Filed March 22, 19518 Sheets-Sheet 7 mmvro; 7807 m. 6m rr/r' A-TT'OR ME KS Nov. 2, 1954 R.M. SMITH 2,693,514

SAFETY LOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOSING SWITCH GEARS Fiied March 22, 19518 Sheets-Sheet 8 .4- rrolems yd United States Patent Office SAFETYLOCKOUT FOR AUTOMATIC RECLOS- ING SWITCH GEARS Roy M. fimiiln,Jeannette, Pa., assignor, by mesne assigmnents, to I-T-E Circuit BreakerCompany, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania My presentinvention relates to automatic reclosers, that is, the type ofelectrical switchgear arranged to open and reclose a number of times onfault current and to lock open after a predetermined number of openingswithin a limited period of time.

More particularly, my invention is an improvement on the structure shownin Patents Nos. 2,118,355; 2,167,665; Re. 22,872; and 2,443,260, and isespecially an improvement on the structure shown in application SerialNo. 113,371 filed August 31, 1949.

Reclosers are normally installed to give protective action to thecircuits on which they are located. The automatic recloser provides thisprotective action by a series of time delayed opening and closingoperations until the fault current source is isolated from the circuit.After a predetermined number of interrupting and closing operations, thereclosers will lock open if the trouble cannot be isolated.

Frequently high voltage lines are serviced by operating crews with thecircuit operating under normal conditions; that is, the lines are workedhot and due precaution must be taken by the operating personnel due tothe danger caused by their proximity to these high voltage conductors.

As a safety feature, it is desirable that the reclosers be easilyadjusted so that they will not perform their complete cycle ofoperations in case of a fault. For example, a lineman may wish to dosome repair work on the line without interrupting the circuit and beable to easily adjust the recloser so that it will only open once andstay in the open position in case of a fault. This safety adjustmentwould be of great value to the lineman because in case of some accidenton the energized circuit, they would be reassured that once the circuitwas interrupted by the recloser, it would not close back in andre-energize the circuit without giving the lineman an opportunity todisengage himself from the circuit. For example, the lineman mightaccidentally drop a wrench or other tool on an energized circuit belowhim, causing a fiashover. With the first interruption of the recloser,occurring very quickly, the lineman might escape injury and could thenextricate himself as soon as the circuit became de-energized. However,if the recloser were allowed to continue its complete cycle ofoperations, he would be exposed to several additional arcs of longduration with great hazard to himself.

An object of my invention is to add an attachment to the exterior of thehousing of the recloser, which can be put in the operable position bythe lineman previous to his working on the circuit. After the work iscompleted, the attachment can then be returned to the nonoperableposition so that the recloser will be restored to its normal operatingdutycycle.

The structure of the recloser shown in application Serial No. 113,371filed August 31, 1949, has a lockout latch to hold the recloser in openposition when the recloser is opened manually by a force downward on thepull ring. When the pull ring is moved downward, it causes both contactseparation and clockwise rotation of the latch. The latch preventscounterclockwise rotation of a pin connected to the internal mechanismand thus holds the internal mechanism in the open position. The latchand pull ring are normally held in an up position by a friction washerand friction spring, respectively, and hold these units in any position.

When the recloser is locked open electrically, that is due to a faultcurrent; the pin moves in a clockwise 2,693,514 Patented Nov. 2, 1954direction but the latch is not operated, and therefore stays by frictionin its upper position. Thus the recloser lock-out latch does not preventcounterclockwise rotation of the pin unless the pull ring is forceddownward causing the lock-out latch to move also.

An object of my invention is to add a spring suitably connected to thelock-out latch which normally would be ineffective to move the latch.When this spring is extended, however, and fastened over a suitablehook, tension would be exerted on the latch to cause it to move in aclockwise direction. Actually it could not move under normal conditionsdue to an interference between the latch and pin. As soon as therecloser opened, the pin on the arm would travel in a clockwisedirection, and the spring on the lockout latch would cause it to movedown with the pin to prevent pin return in its counterclockwisedirection and thus hold the recloser in the open position.

If the recloser did not operate while the lineman was working on thecircuit, then the spring would be returned to its normal free positionand the recloser would be returned to perform automatic opening andclosing delayed operations on the occurrence of fault currents.

Another object of my invention is to provide a spiral spring to causeclockwise rotation of lock-out latch, but this force to be overcome by asecond spring of equal and opposite force. The lineman could unhook thesecond spring so that the lock-out latch could operate, as describedabove, under the influence of the spiral spring.

A further object of my invention is to provide a leaf spring which wouldrestrain movement of the lock-out latch and a tensioned spring whichwould tend to cause clockwise rotation of the lock-out latch.

A mounting, with operated and unoperated position, is moved by thelineman to the operating position and removes the restraint of the flatspring. The lock-out latch would then rotate into locked-open positionunder the influence of the tensioned spring, when the recloser opens ona fault current. The hook ring assembly is provided with a wedge meansto remove the restraint of the leaf spnng when the switch stick urgesthe hook ring down. Thus manual open operation by means of the pull ringis still possible in spite of the leaf spring restraint.

Thus a primary object of my invention is the provision of means tolock-open the automatic recloser on occurrence of fault current.

The foregoing and many other objects of my invention will becomeapparent in the following description and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded schematic View in perspective of those operatingelements of the novel automatic circuit recloser which are containedwithin the operating section of the housing of the circuit recloser.

Figure 2 is a schematic view in perspective exploded in two directionsof those operating and indicating elements of the novel circuit recloserwhich are contained outside the housing, and the directly connectedelement on the inside of the housing.

Figure 2A is a view in perspective corresponding to that of Figure 2showing the elements of Figure 2 connected together in order to show therelationship of the various parts.

Figure 3 is a circuit diagram showing the circuit connections betweenthe operating elements of the novel automatic circuit recloser.

Figure 4 is a side view of the control elements shown schematically inFigure 1 contained in the control housing with the exterior operatingelements of Figures 2 and 2A included.

Figures 5 to 12 are schematic views showing the successive positions ofthe latching mechanism in association with the timer mechanism. Figures5 to 8 are relative to opening operation of the contacts, whereasFigures 9 to 11 are descriptive of reclosing and time delayed openingoperations. Figure 12 schematically shows the position of these controlelements in the lock-out condition after a specific number of openingsand reclosures have occurred. Figure 8 is also descriptive of theposition of the latches and associated mechanism for release afterlock-out to permit reclosure.

Figures 13 to 15 are schematic views showing the positions of theexternal operating elements of Figure 2 for 'difierent conditions of theautomatic recloser.

Figures 16 to 18 are additional views showing the position of theindicator and the principal operating arm of the plunger at positionscorresponding, respectively,'to the positions of Figures 13 to 15.

Figure 19 is a side view with a part of the cover removed of the timingmechanism for use in connection with the control elements of my-novelautomatic circuit recloser.

Figure 20 is a view of the timing mechanism of Figure 19 taken from line20-20 of Figure 19.

Figures 21 and 22 illustrate schematically the operation of the timedelay ratchet.

Figures 23 and 24 illustrate schematically the operation of the look-outratchet.

Figure 25 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the externaloperating elements of Figure 2.

Figures 26, 26A and 26B are schematic views showing a-second embodimentof the external operating elements of Figure 2.

Referring to the figures, the operating mechanism which controls theopening-movement and also time delays the reclosure and 'whichmechanically defeats the closing spring after a predetermined number ofreclosures isall shown schematically in Figure l.

-All of the elements of Figures 1 and3, except of course the'externalterminals and 23 as well as otherelements, are-contained within a casingof the type shown in Figure 4, the operating elements of Figure 1 beinglocated in -the operating chamber of the casing and the moving contactplunger of the stationary main contact and the operating cell beingpositioned in a lower chamber below thempper operating chamber.

=Duringnormal operations, the electrical-elements of the recloserareconnected in series with the power line at terminals 10,23 which isto be protected by the recloser. This circuit extends from terminal 10,conductor 11, connector 34l, through winding 12 of the control magnetconductors 14, connector 15, contacts 45 and 44 bridged by switchoperating member 537, conductor 354A to-connector 1'72 and pigtail 18,to rod 20, stationary contact 21, 22 to the power line terminal 23.

It will be noted that with contact 537 bridging the contacts 44, 45, thewinding of operating magnet 24 is bypassed so that normallysubstantially no current flows through, and therefore there issubstantially no loss due to current flowing in this winding. -However,the windingsof' control magnet 12 are connected in series with the powerline and are therefore energized by line current. On predeterminedenergization of the control magnet 12, in response to a fault current inthe power line, lever 40 which carries contact 537 is moved, aswillhereinafter be-ldescribed, to' open thebridge across contacts 44,45,thereby inserting the winding of operating magnet 24 inseries with thewinding of control magnet 12 and the power line. Magnet 24 isnow'energize'd in'response to thefault current to operate its rod to'contact'disengaged position.

Following separation of the main contacts 21 and 20A, the are which isformed on'the'opening of the circuit at that point is extinguished andresults in de-energization ofthe operating coil 24. Thereupon theclosing spring hereinafter described drives the plunger 20 down toreestablish current carrying connections-between the main movablecontact 20A and the main stationary contactZl.

The 1 operating mechanism shown schematically in Figure 1*is designed toprovide appropriate controls for circuit opening operations and for thereclosing operations, so that'successive reclosing operations may takeplace with a desired'time delay interval between them and so that theplunger 20 may be locked in the'upzor disengaged position after apredetermined number of reclosing operations.

The control coil 12 is arranged so that in'response to a fault currentof predetermined value in the circuit which is protected, control coilwill be sufiicientlyenergized to move solenoid-armature connected to thecontrol switch 16 and thus to open the control switch.

The control coil 12, therefore, is the initial operating coil of theentire system. Control coil 12 is essentially a'solenoid coilsurrounding the armature 25 which is normally biased above the coil bycompressionspring 26 in the manner hereinafter described.

The armature i25 isspreferably: atlaminated iron structure, a portion ofwhich forms together with the laminated magnetic rectangular plates 27::and 27b and with 27a and 27c, magnetic paths for the flow of flux inresponse to energization of the control coil 12.

The magnetic path 27 includes the additional armature 28 which issecured to therotatable shaft 29 so that portion 30 thereof is inengagement with the top leg 27b of the magnetic'flux path.

For ordinary current valuesflowing through control coil 12, magneticflux through the legs 27a, 27b, 27:! and 270 of the magnet is notsufiicient to attract the armature '28.

However, where apredeter-rninedcurrent value is-exceeded, i..e., a faultcurrent flows in the line, section 27hr of the leg 27b of the magnetbecomes saturated and the resultant magnetic flux passing from leg 27!:through the armature 28 and across the air gap 31a results in attraction of the armature 28 toward the magnet 27. This results in rotationof the shaft 29 and the curved timer-adjustment fork '31 mountedon shaft29.

Thus, the control coil 12 has 'two immediate functions when-energizedtma predetermined value in: excessof normal current value: (1) itattracts the'arrna-tureZS against the bias of. compression.- spring26and (2) it attracts thearmature28 against the bias of the springassembly 32 of armatureaZS, which spring assembly is also hereinafterdescribed.

The upper end of armature '25 is connected by. pin 33 to-the lever '34whichxis pivotallyrmounted on the stationary pivot 35. The oppositevend-ofthelever34 is connectedbypivot. 36 to ztheconnecting rod 37. :Thelower end ofconnecting rod 37 is *connectedby pin .3810 the controlswitch operatingz lever 40.

Control switch operatingslever 40 is pivotally mounted on thepivot 41..Compressionspring 26. compressed between the stationary collar 42 andthe-end of lever 40 at pivot 38 surrounds the; connecting rodv37.

Compression spring 26:-drivesthe loweriend of connecting rod.37vand,.therefore, the left-hand end of .control switch lever40"downwardly,:thereby pulling-down the right-hand end of "lever 34,lifting up'the left-hand end of lever 34 and exerting an upward. initialbias on pin .33 andxarmaturelZS. Spring .26 bythis means-normallymaintainstheaiarmature in the raised-position partly outside or thecontrolcoil 12 as shown in Figure l.

.The.'right-hand-- end of the'controlswitch lever 40 is provided withthe tcontact section 43 normally bridging the stationary contacts 44,'45 of-theucontrohswitch 16 and .being held in bridging engagementtherewith by the compression spring 26 which. drives the left-hand endof lever 40 down aspreviously described.

"On energization of control coil 12 to'a sufficient value, armature .25is moved, rotating lever-34|in a counterclockwise direction around pivot35' and raising the connecting'rod 37 upwardly against the-bias ofcompression springx26.

zT-his results in a'clockwise rotation of lever 4t) and the movementofthe bridging contact '43 away" from thestationary1contacts 44 :and 45of the control switch16.

:Accordingly, 'the'current value atwhich the control coil.1-2- willbeenergized sufficiently to attract the armature z25may be determined bythe compression'of compression-'springf26 and: may,- if desired, '(butnot preferably) be calibratedby makingcollar-'42 adjustable.

The drop: out characteristic of the control "relay-is important. .Itisdesirable for reclosers to have this feature in order to protect thenormallyshunte'd operating co'il'from carrying load currents which wouldburn them out. lncase' that a-"fault' clears from-a line (such as byself-clearing'orby the blowing of a distr'ibu'tion transformer primaryfuse) before the-power contacts have had time to open but afterthe'control' contacts have opened, the load current returns to. normal.

-Unlessa highdropi'out value is afforded, the control armatureistaysinthe fully attracted positionrby the: load current, thereby holdingthecontrol contacts open. This causes 'the loadxcurrent to pass'throughthe'operating coil which-is normally shunted. The drop 'out value shouldbe at least 80'%'of'*the' full-loadrating- The present recloser providessuitable drop out by including a non-magneticplate-which "prevents thearmature -from scaling in against :the magnetic pole face.

However, a =simpler and more accurate degree of adjustment is providedby theopening latchSO keyed to and mounted on the-rotatable pin 51, "theopening 'latch50 being spring biased in a clockwise direction withrespect to Figure 1 toward latching position by the coil spring 52.

Pin or shaft 51 carries the lug 53 secured thereto and rotatabletherewith, which lug carries at its outer end the pick-up calibratingscrew 54 which is adjustably mounted in the lug 53 for upward anddownward movement on rotation of the screw 54 and which may be locked inthe adjusted position by the lock nut 55.

The lower end of the pick-up calibrating screw 54 bears against theforward end 56 of the timer arm 57. The opening latch 50 is providedwith the latching detent 60 so arranged that it provides a detent orledge against which the roller 61 at the end of lever 62 may bear.

Lever 62 is pivotally mounted on the stationary pin 63. The end thereofopposite the roller 61 is in toggle relation with the link 64, beingconnected thereto by the knee pin 65. The opposite end of toggle 626564is connected by pin 66 to the upwardly extending arm 67 of the lever 34.

When, therefore, the armature is attracted downwardly by energization ofthe control coil 12 to rotate the lever 34 in a counterclockwisedirection, it not only must compress the spring 26 but also must operateagainst the holding force of the latch 50 so that the toggle 62- 65-64may collapse to the position shown.

The armature 25, therefore, cannot be pulled down by coil 12 unless theroller 61 bearing against the latching detent 60 displaces the openinglatch 50 in a counterclockwise direction with respect to Figure l.

The pick-up calibrating screw 54 bearing against the forward end 56 ofthe timer arm 57 determined the angular position of the pin 51 and theopening latch 50 thereby determining the degree to which the latchingdetent 60 of the opening latch 50 underlies the roller 61 at the end oftoggle 6265-64. Pin 63A bearing on the top surface of lever 62 ensuresthat roller 61 will ride in latching detent 60.

The degree to which the detent 60 underlies the roller 61 determines theinitial force required to displace the opening latch 50 in order topermit the armature 25 to be moved down by coil 12. The greater thedisplacement of the opening latch 50 in a counterclockwise direction(with respect to Figure 1) the less force required to push the roller 61off the latching detent 60 to rotate the opening latch 50.

The greater the adjustment of the latch 50 in a clockwise direction withrespect to Figure l, the greater the force required for thisdisplacement.

Accordingly, the adjustment of pick-up calibrating screw 54 whichdetermines this initial angular displacement of the opening latch 50determines the force and hence the over current condition requiredbefore initiation of operation of the apparatus.

When, however, this displacing force is reached, armature 25 is pulleddown by control coil 12; roller 61 of toggle 6265-64 rolls off thelatching detent 60 and against the side of the opening latch 50; theopening latch 50 is rotated in a clockwise direction while toggle 6265-64 collapses; the connecting rod 37 is raised; switch operating leveris rotated, and bridging contact 43 moves out of engagement with thestationary contacts 44 and of the control switch 16.

With the control switch 16 thus opened, the full current passes throughthe operating coil 24 which attracts the plunger 20, pulling it upwardlyand separating the main movable contact 21 from the main stationarycontact 22 to open the circuit.

The upper end of the plunger 20 is connected to the operating arm 70 bythe yoke connection 71 in such manner that the upward movement ofplunger 20 must necessarily result in upward rotation of operating arm70 and downward movement of the plunger 20 must necessarily result indownward rotation of the operating arm 70 and vice versa.

The structure of the operating arm 70 will be more fully understood inconnection with the description of Figures 1 and 2. For purposes,however, of review of the entire operation, it is sufiicient to pointout for the present that operating arm 70 is rotatably mounted on thestationary pivot 75 at the end opposite its connection at 71 to plunger20.

Operating arm 70 carries intermediate its ends and extendingtransversely with respect thereto the pin 76 on which are rotatablymounted the main latch roller 77 and the pawl 78. Pawl 78 is essentiallya bell crank lever O in form having a timer arm engaging leg 79 forengagement with arm 57 in the manner hereinafter described and adownwardly extending positioning leg 80.

In the normal at rest position of the operating arm 70, shownschematically in Figure 5, the positioning leg 80 of pawl 78 is drivenby coil spring 82 against the stop pin 81 carried by the operating arm70.

The timer arm 57 as is shown in Figure 1 is provided with a slotted pin85 receiving the end 86 of coil spring 87. Coil spring 87 is woundaround the slotted pin 85 and the outer end 88 thereof is connected tothe stationary pin 90 carried (see Figure 1) in the lug 91 extendingfrom the side of the timing mechanism housing 92.

Coil spring 87 is so adjusted that the timer arm 57 in the normal closedcircuit position of the apparatus is substantially horizontal. When thetimer arm 57 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction with pin 85being the pivot with respect to Figure 1 and clockwise with respect toFigure 5, the coil spring 87 is tensioned tending to rotate the timerarm 57 back toward the substantially horizontal position.

Timer arm 57 has a rearward extension 95 with a rounded under surface 96which will be engaged by the upper surface of leg 79 of pawl 78 when theoperating arm 70 begins to rise (compare Figures 5 and 6) during theupward movement of the plunger 20.

Thus, as the operating arm 70 rises, the pawl 78 lifts the rear end 95of the timer arm 57 rotating the timer arm as above described andthereby lifting the time delay pawl lever 100 which is connected by thepin 101 to the timer arm 57 between the pin 85 and the end 95 of thetimer arm 57.

Time delay pawl lever 100 is biased in a clockwise direction toward thetime delay toothed ratchet 102 by the coil spring 103. Time delay pawllever 100 is provided with the pawl tooth 104 which bears against thetime delay circular ratchet 102.

Lever also is provided with the extension 105 below the pawl tooth 104having a cammed surface which bears against the pin 106 carried by thehousing 92 of the timer mechanism and which in the normal at restposition of the operating mechanism with the switch contacts closedmaintains the pawl tooth 104 out of engagement with the surface of thetime delay ratchet 102 as shown in Figure 5.

Pin 106 is rotatable and is cam-shaped to provide adjustment of thedisengaging point of pawl 100. This is shown in Figure 23.

When, however, the operating arm 70 is raised about its pivot 75 owingto the lifting up of the plunger 20 by the operating solenoid coil 24and pawl 78 thus lifts the end 95 of the timer arm 57, the time delaypawl lever 198 is lifted; and as soon as its extension 105 clears thepin 06, coil spring 103 drives the pawl tooth 104 against the surface ofthe time delay ratchet 102.

This is shown diagrammatically by a comparison of Figures 6 and 7.

The pawl tooth 104 of the time delay pawl lever 100 rides up the surfaceof the time delay ratchet 102 without rotating the same owing to thecurvature of the teeth 107 of the ratchet 102 (see also Figures 21 and22) and also owing to the fact that certain portions 108, 109 may bemade smooth and without the teeth 107 for purposes hereinafter morespecifically described.

From the description thus far, it will be apparent that in response to apredetermined fault current, control magnet 12 was energized, openingthe shunt switch around operating magnet 24. Magnet 24 was thenenergized in response to the fault current and the circuit breakercontacts opened instantaneously. The contacts are iatc..ed in openposition. At the same time, energy was stored in a spring 512 which, nowunder control of a time delay mechanism, operates to release theprincipal latch '77, 112.

As will be described more fully hereinafter, contacts 21, 22 are openedin an arc chamber in which the resultant are following circuitinterruption is extinguished. The operating magnet 24 is de-energizedand the plunger 20 is now operable under action of a biasing spring 512to reclose contacts 21, 22 as soon as the time delay releases the latch.

The ratchet 102 is keyed to the timer shaft 110 which is under thecontrol of the timing mechanism within the timing mechanism housing 92.Assuming that the first reclosure is to be delayed, then the teeth 10712(Figure 21)tof rat chet 102: are r so positioned, also in=a mannerhereinafter described, that the pawl tooth 1'04 w ill engage the teeth10% at theupper limit ofrmovement of the timer arm :57, lever 100 andpawl tooth104 as shown in Figu're"9.

Figure -8 shows thefully open position before reclosure starts. Timerarm 57 is held up by pin 121a.

.-'At"this time, the leg 79 of pawl 78 'has been moved through asuflicient'arc by rotation on pin'76 todisengage the curvedunder-surface 96 of the rear extension95 of the timer arm 57 (Figure 7)and the end 95 of the timer arm'ST'is released to move downward-andhence the time delay pawl: lever'ltltt begins to descend asindicated inFigure'9.

This descent is, however, delayed by the timingmechanism 260;in timingmechanism'housing"92=which controls: the rotation of shaft 110v andtiming arm 57 cannot move instantaneously back to its original positionunder the-influence of coil spring '87Ibut'returns with a timed movementdetermined by the speed'at which the timing mechanism in housing 92permits the'gpawl' tooth 184 to drive the time delay ratchet102.

The main. latch roller 77 seats in the latching detent 112 'justxpriorto the disengagement of pawl end78 from timer" arm end '96 as shown in'Figure 7. The principal latch .113 constitutes a .lever'arm pivotallymounted on thestationary pm 114 and biased toward the main latch roller77 by the coil spring 115.

Whenthemain'latch roller 77 carried by 'theoperating arm 70 which'isconnected at 71 to the plungerZO, therefore, seats in the latchingdetent 112, the operating arm 70 and the connected plunger 20 arelocked. in the up position as shown in Figure 9.

'.'This -latching operation is accomplished by making the up stroke ofplunger20 and arm 70 sufficient to lift lat'ch roller77 above latchingdetent 112 *high enough to ensure that pawl 78 will disengage the timerarm 57. Latch roller 77 then moves down slightly with arm 70 and plunger20 to rest on detent112.

.As previously. pointed out, a'compression spring 512 hereinafterdescribed has been compressedby the upward movement of plunger 20 tobias the plunger 20 downwardly to the position in which contacts 21 and22 will engage. This compression spring is, however, defeatedbyrthe-interengagement of the main latch roller 77 with thelatchingdetent 112 of the principal latch 113.

The principal latch 113 has a U-shaped extension 117 arranged .in the.path of movement of roller 118 carried on pin119 at the rear end-95ofthe timer arm 57.

As .the timer arm 57 returns toward its original position under theinfluence of coil spring 87 and delayed by the time delay mechanism inhousing 92 which acts through the time delay pawl lever 109 on timer arm57, a device such as roller 11S engages the end of the U.shapedextension 117 of the principal latch 113 and pushes the latch 113 backfar enough so that the latching detent .112 moves out from underthe-main latching roller 77 .permittingthe reclosing spring 512 to drivethe plunger 20 .and the operating arm 70 down to effect re-engagement ofcontacts 21, 22 (see Figure 10).

Accordingly, it is thereturn movement of the timing armt57zwhich.disengages' latch 113 from the'main latching roller 77 and the timedelay which operates on the timer arm 57 determining the. degree towhich reclo'sure will 'be delayed.

-The timing mechanism may, therefore, be adjusted to awdesired. speed"and this adjusted speed will be effective to control the return movementof the'timing arm57, which in turn will control the unlatching of theoperating arm 70 and the plunger 20.

After. the completion of the clockwise rotation of timer arm 57, thecurved extension 105 of the 'reclosing time delay pawl lever 100 movesagainst the pin .106 to .move thepawl tooth104 out'ofengagementwith theteeth 107 or 107avof the time delay ratchet asthe case may be (Figure..21

At this time, the timing mechanism which waswound up by therotation ofratchet 192 by timerarm 57 in a clockwise direction with respect toFigures 1, -12 and 21 will now be free to rotate the time delay ratchet102 and its'shaft 110'. backito'the original or neutral position.

Thisreturn movement of thetimer shaft 110 and the time delay ratchet 102will,'=however, be under the control of the timing mechanism. The timefor the return of the time delayratchetlOZ-will *not'necessarily be thesame as was required for the original movement. In the first placefthespring STWhich causes the forward movement and the spring-in the timerhereinafter described which causes the return movement are of differentlengths and,-inaddition, thereturn movement is always at the same rate,which is'theslowest-speed of operation of the timer.

- On the otherahand, the forward movement which consists of two parts isat-a'slow rate for thefirst portion of its'trav'el. This rate isnotnecessarily the same-as under the-return portion since a muchheavier" spring is operated. "In addition, the second portion of travelinthe forward 'direction is under the influence ofthe heavier spring andat a variablerateiof operation depending'on the magnitude'of theshort'circuit current as hereinafter described.

If this return movement is completed beforethenext opening operation,then the next opening operation .occurs as if it were the first openingoperation of a series and the first and subsequent reclosureswilloccuras'if they were the first of a series.

'If; however, this return movement'has not been completed 'beforethenext opening operation, then on the next opening operation, pawl"104willengage teeth'107 of the time delay ratchet102 at a'positionangularly displaced'from the first engagement. .The main latch roller 77will be engaged and held by. the latch113 and the timer arm 57 willagain descend under the control, however, of the timing .mechanisminhousing 92 translated to the timer arm through the timer shaft 110,ratchet .102, and lever 100. I

.If the next opening of the circuit breaker occurs before thetimingmechanism. in housing 92 hashaidan-opportunity tolbegin to. returnthe ratchet 102 and.shaft'.110 back toward the'ini'tial position, thenthe return of the timing arm 57 under .thecontrol ofthe time delaymechanism willa'dd cumulative angular rotation to ratchet .102 andshaftlllt).

.Thetime 'delay mechanismis adjustable as to the speed of operation byadjustment of :st0p:.3I5- (Figure.l9).in 510L316 by clamping screw32t)asdescribe'd below in connection with thespecific description of thetiming mechanism (Figures 19 and '20) in order to manually adjustthemechanismfor faster .or slower reclosing =as conditionsmay require.

It is essential in the operationof the 'novel .circuit recloser thatthecontacts be locked open after -a predetermined number of reclosingoperations.

Thus, in the eventthe initial cause. for opening of: the

contacts 'wassome transientfault in the .line, the recloser may closeand remain closed. .Anexample is the case of some. accidentallymaintained'arcing over at an insulator on the line owing to an unusualtransient conditiomin which case momentaryninterruption. of currentoccasioned by one opening-and reclosure of theecontacts will: result inextinguishment ofthearcwhich'wilbnot-then ordinarily reigniteowing to.the.=fact:.that the ionizedgases would' normally be blown awayv orotherwise. cooled. This willalsotbe the case if wireshave-accidentally-swung together in a high wind.

' Moreover, if some relatively high resistance member has causedthefault, the first or second 'reclosure of'the automaticrecloser'mayserve toburn away the cause of the fault and the automaticrecloser'contacts' should then remain closed to maintain the circuitafter the fault has been burned away.

If, however, the. opening of the contactsresulted from a trueshortcircuit. condition which will not be-cleared by repeated openings 1and closings of. the automatic recloser, it then becomesessential tolock the automatic recloser open. This is the principal reasonfor-making the angular movements ofathe time :delay ratchet i102 and-thetimer. shaft cumulative on rapidly'repeated reclosures.

*After a predetermined wnumber of such reclosures as after the secondorthird reclosure, this cumulative rotation of the reclosin-gtimezdelayv ratchet102 and the timer shaft 110 may be utilized to bringa-lock-out mechanism into operation.

The lockout mechanism comprises avlock-outratchet 12% on. the timershaft110 co-axialwith but. spaced from the reclosing time delay ratcheti102-.and a lock-.outpawl 9 lever 121 having a pawl tooth 122 and connectedat its opposite end by pin 123 to the principal latch 113.

A coil spring 125 biases the lock-out pawl lever 121 upwardly so thatthe pawl tooth 122 bears against the surface of the lock-out ratchet120. The lock-out ratchet 120 as is seen in Figures 23 and 24 is smoothat 126 over a substantial portion of its surface and is provided withteeth 127 over another portion of its surface.

In the original condition of the elements, after a first opening thepawl tooth 122 engages the smooth section 126 of the surface of thelock-out ratchet 120 whenever the latch 113 is in latching engagementwith the roller 77.

After a repeated number of reclosures, however, resulting in cumulativerotation of the timer shaft 110, time delay ratchet 102 and lock-outratchet 120, the teeth 127 of the lock-out ratchet 120 moveinto positionto be engaged by the pawl tooth 122 on the next opening opera tion whenthe latch 113 next moves to a position where it receives and holds thelatch 7 7.

When on an opening operation the latch 113 engages the roller 77 to lockthe operating arm 70 and plunger 20 in the up position and when the pawltooth 122 engages the teeth 127 of the lock-out ratchet 120, rememberingthat the ratchets 102 and 120 are rotated in a clockwise direction withrespect to Figures 21 and 23 as the timer arm descends, the teeth 127are so curved that they will be locked by the pawl tooth 122 for suchclockwise rotation and the pawl tooth 122 on the lock-out pawl lever 121will prevent such further rotation by the timer shaft 110 and ratchets102 and 120.

Hence, the timer arm 57 and its pawl lever 100 cannot now descend andthe automatic recloser mechanism is now locked out as shown in Figure12. This is true since, as pointed out above, it is the descent of thetimer arm that is necessary to push the principal latch 113 away fromthe latching roller 77; and the timer arm cannot now descend.

The lock-out ratchet 120, as hereinafter described, may be madeangularly adjustable about the shaft 110 so that the angular position ofshaft 110 at which the teeth 127 move into conjunction with the pawltooth 122 may be determined or set in accordance with the number ofreclosures to be had before the look-out position is reached.

The interlock arrangement definitely does not permit lockout With themain contacts closed. Pin 121a holds lockout pawl 122 away from lockoutratchet 120.

The dashpot unit 130 pivotally mounted on pin 131 and connected to pin119 of timer arm 57 may provide a time delay on the first reclosure ofabout thirty cycles rather than the six cycles which may be obtainedwithout the dashpot unit. The reason that the device would operate sofast (six cycles) without the dashpot is that the timer does notfunction at all on the first reclosure because of the flat spot on thetime delay ratchet 102, as described previously. The dashpot is utilizedwhere it is desired to increase this time delay from six to thirtycycles.

By adjusting stop 330 (Figure 19) by means of screw 332, it is possibleto relocate the normal or reset portion of the timer and, therefore, thetime delay ratchet 102. If this is done, the flat spot is moved in acounterclockwise direction (Figure 22) as shown in Figure 21, and thenthe detent 104 engages with a tooth and thus provides the full fiveseconds delay on the first reclosure due to the influence of the timer.

As seen now in Figures 2, 2a, 4 and 13 to 18, the plate 170 of operatingarm 70 is provided with a downwardly directed extension 192 carrying thepin 193 to which is connected the link 194. The opposite end of link 194is connected by pin 195 to the crank 196.

in Figures 2 and 2a, the position of link 194 and crank 196 is shown forconnection to the exterior parts in the exterior housing. As may best beseen in Figure 4, the exterior housing 200 comprises a substantiallyU-shaped bracket member 201 set in a recess of the annular wall 202 ofthe operating chamber 173. Wall 203 forms a common boundary between theexterior housing 200 and the inner operating chamber 173. The exterioroperating shaft 205 passes through a bearing 206 in wall 203 (Figure2a). The end of the shaft 205 within the chambe: 1.73 is provided withthe extended key 207 registering in the key way 208 at the end of thecrank 196 opposite the pin 195. A bolt 209 passing through an opening210 in the end of crank 196 also enters a threaded opening 211 in theinner end of the exterior operating shaft 205.

Thus, the exterior operating shaft 205 is connected to the operating armin such manner that when the operating arm 70 and plunger 20 are raised,thus rotating the shaft 205 in a clockwise direction with respect toFigures 2 and 2a and also with respect to Figures 16 to 18.

The bottom 212 (Figure 4) of the exterior housing 200 is open, and theside 213 opposite the common wall 203 is made of transparent material(see also Figures 2 and 2a). The transparent side wall 213 is secured tothe bracket 201 by screws 214 (Figure 4) passing through appropriateopenings 215 in the transparent side wall 213 and entering intoappropriate tapped lugs carried by the bracket 201.

The outer end of shaft 205 has a section 217 to which pointer 221 isfastened. Pointer 221 is secured in any suitable manner as by the screw222 (Figure 4) to the end of section 217 of shaft 205 and cooperateswith the closed legend 223 and the open legend 224 on the transparentside wall 213 of exterior housing 200 to indicate the condition ofplunger 20.

Thus, in the closed position the pointer 221 occupies the position shownin Figures 2, 2a, 4 and 16. In the open position of plunger 20, whetherlocked out or momentarily open before a reclosing, the pointer occupiesthe position shown in Figure 18 where it registers with the open indicia224.

Thus, the open or lock-out position condition of pointer 221 registeringwith legend 224 as in Figure 18 will indicate that the automatic circuitrecloser is locked open.

A counter 225 is secured in any suitable manner as by the screws 226 andspacers 227 to the interior of transparent side wall 213, the indiciaface 228 being downwardly directed so that it may be visible from below.An operating lever 229 extends upwardly in the path of pin 230 carriedby crank arm 231 of the exterior operating shaft 205.

As seen in Figure 13, the pin 230 moves the operating lever 229 to theright during the closed position of the automatic recloser. Each timethe pin 230 moves down in response to an opening movement, a spring, notshown, in the counter 225 causes the operating lever 229 of counter 225to move toward the left with respect to Figure 13 to the position ofFigure 15, and each time the pin 230 rises once more in response to aclosing movement of plunger 20, it lifts the operating lever 229,thereby adding a unit to the indicia carrying face 228 of the counter225 and indicating the total number of times that the automatic recloserhas been operated.

After the automatic recloser has been locked open in a manner previouslydescribed by operation of the lockout ratchet in cooperation with thelock-out pawl lever 121, it becomes necessary to reset the automatrcrecloser so that it may close after the fault which caused the lockingopen has been repaired.

For this purpose, a reset link 235 terminating in the ring 236 isprovided, the said reset lever being rotatably mounted on the pin 237and being secured in place by cotter pin 238. Pin 237 extends from thecrank arm 240 which is an extension of cross arm 241 mounted on thesleeve 242.

Sleeve 242 is in turn rotatably mounted on section 243 of reduceddiameter of the exterior operating shaft 205. Cross arm 241 of thesleeve 242 extends above the crank arm 231 and crank arm 240 of crossarm 241 extends above pin 245, which pin may be an extension of pin 230on the opposite side of crank arm 231.

A coil spring 246 maintains the crank arm 240 and the reset link 235 inthe up position even through shaft 205 is rotated so that crank 231moves down as shown in Figure 15.

When now after a lock-out of the automatic reclosing mechanism as shownschematically in Figure 12 after the desired number of reclosures hasoccurred, it becomes necessary to reset the mechanism. The end of ahooked stick is inserted in ring 236 of the reset link 235 and the resetlink 235 is pulled down. This pulls down the crank 240 in the cross arm241 causing the sleeve 242 to rotate about section 243 of exterioroperating shaft 205.

The crank 240 bearing on pin 245 pulls down the crank 231 rotating theshaft 205 further in a clockwise direction and lifting the plunger 20and the operating arm 70 from the lock-out position of Figure 12 to thelock-out release position of Figure 8. This lifts the latch roller 77off'the latching detent 112 in the principal latch 113 and up to therecessed portion 250 of the principal latch 113.

When the recloser is released from lock-out by pulling down on ring236,- the latch roller 77 is lifted up off of latching detent 112 to theupper portion of principal latch 113. However, the principal latch 113does not move forward during this operation since the upper section hasa contourwhich is a radius from pivot 75 so that the latch roller merelyrolls up the radius section. This construction is desirable so that theprincipallatch 113 will not move when the latch roller moves back downtowards detent 112. This construction assures more positive latchingaction. When the recloser is reset from lock-out, the detent 3'70strikes against the upper portion 37-1 of pawl 100, causing it to retatein a counterclockwise direction around its pivot 101 (Figure 12) whichdisengages the detent 104- from the teeth of the time delay ratchet 102.The time delay ratchet 102 and lock-out ratchet are then free to returnto their normal reset position under the influence of reset spring 271(Figure 20). This action is possible because pawl 100 has beendisengaged from time delay ratchet 102 and the teeth on lock-out ratchet120 are so shaped that they will slip by detent 122 on lockout pawl 121in the reset direction.

The end 95 of the timer arm 3'7 is provided with the projection 370which in the loch-out release position shown in Figure 8 will bearagainst the upper end 371 of the reclosing time delay pawl lever 160 todrive the reclosing time delay pawl lever 100 away from the reclosingtime delay ratchet 102 in order to permit resetting of the timingmechanism back to its original position.

The timing mechanism is now released so that it may return the timershaft 110 carrying the reclosing time delay ratchet 102 and the lock-outratchet 120 back to the original position of Figure 23 or 24 as the casemay be.

T he hooked stick inserted in the ring 236 of the reset lever 235 mustbe held down a suflicient length of time to permit the reset of thetiming mechanism and of the timer shaft 110 to occur.

When the pull ring 23-6 is pulled in the downward position, it not onlyraises rod 20 and releases the time delay pawl 100, as describedpreviously, but also it latches the recloser in the open positionmechanically. This is accomplished by detent 254'; of latch 251 engagingwith pin 245 as shown in Figure 2a. Vfhen pull ring 236 is pulled down,the extension of pin 237 beyond the upper end of pull ring 236 engageswith the upper surface of the lower leg of lock-out latch 251 (seeFigure 14), causing it to be rotated around its pivot 252 and againstthe friction of friction washer 253. The detent 254 is then positionedto engage with pin 245 on arm 231 and thus hold the mechanism in theopen position. It will be noted that previously, due to the frictionwasher 253 of the look-out latch 251, the latch 251 was held in the upposition even though the force of gravity was in the down or clockwisedirection. v

The recloser is then finally released from lock-out by releasing thelatch 251 by means of a switch stick pushed up against the under surfaceor against the extension 255.

When it is desirable to open the recloser manually and cause it to stayopen, a switch stick is inserted in ring 236 and it is pulled down. Therecloser is then latched open by means of detent 254 of latch 251 asdescribed above. The recloser can then be reclosed by pushing up againstlatch 251 and unlatching detent 254 from pin 245.

It should be noted that the main difference in reclosing the recloser isthat when it is latched open mechanically from the outside, it is onlynecessary to unlatch the recloser by pushing up on latch 251.

However, when the recloser locks open electrically on the inside, thereclosing operation consists of two parts. First, the pull ring ispulled down and held for several seconds so that the timing mechanismwill allow the lock-out ratchet to reset, and second, to push up onlatch 251 to release the mechanical latch, which was operated during thefirst part of the resetting action.

The function of the timing mechanism in housing 92 has already beenreferred to. It is sufficient here to point. out once more that itcontrols the rotation of the timer shaft by the timer arm 57 in onedirection to delay the return of the timer arm 57 back to its originalposition.

After reclosure has occurred, it returns the timer shaft 110 and itsassociated ratchets 102 and back to their original position with a timedelay period determined by the relative strength of spring 271hereinafter described, restoring the timer shaft 110 and its associatedelements backto their originalposition if the automatic recloser remainsclosed following its reclosure.

The housing 92 for the timing mechanism 260 (Figures 19 and 20)comprises essentially a pair of parallel plates 261 and 262 connected bybolts 263 and nuts 264 and spaced by spacers 265 surrounding the bolts263 and captured between the plates 261 and 262.

The main operating shaft 270 of the time mechanism 260 rotates inappropriate bearings in plates 261, 262 extending transversely thereto.

A main spring 271 located outside of the plate 262 is connected at oneend to the stationary bolt 272 carried by plate 262 and at the other endto the main operating shaft 270. A guide plate 2'73 carried by the mainoperating shaft 270 confines the turns of the main spring 271. Theportion of the main operating shaft 270 extending through plate 261carries the connecting pin 275 extending through the hexagonal member276 mounted on the shaft 270 and through registering openings in thehexagonal member 276 and the shaft 270 so that rotation of the mainoperating shaft 270 will result in angular movement of the mainoperating pin 275 and vice versa.

Gear 280 on the main operating shaft 2'70 is connected to pinion 281 onthe arbor 232 carried between plates 261 and 262. Gear 283 on the arbor232 is connected to pinion 23-4 on arbor also carried between plates 261and 262. Gear 286 on arbor 285 is connected to pinion 287 on cam shaft288. Cam shaft 238 is the escapement shaft of the timing mechanism. Camshaft 208 carries at its inner end the disc 239 connected by theeccentric transverse cam pin 2% to the disc 291, which in turn isconnected to the opposite end of the cam shaft 288a.

As the cam shaft 233, 283a is rotated by the gear train280281-233284-286237, the cam pin 2% describes a circle at a radius fromthe main axis of the cam shaft 2055, 283a. The escapement lever 295 isprovided at its upper end with an escapernent pin 2% registering in theescapement slot 297 of the escapement Wheel 298.

The escapeinent wheel 2% is mounted on arbor 299 which is rotatable inappropriate bearings between plates 261 and 262. The fulcrum ofescapement lever 295 is the pin 300 carried by the timer adjusting arm135. The lower end of the escapement lever 295 is provided with aflaring slot 305 wider toward its lower end at 306 and narrow at 307 atits upper end, the axis of the slot 305 extending along a line throughthe fulcrum 300 and the escapement pin 296.

Slot 305 surrounds the cam pin 290. As the main operating shaft 270 ofthe timer is rotating in one direction, it winds up the main spring 271.At the same time, through the gear train 280, 281, 283, 234, 236, 287,it rotates the cam shaft 283 and the cam pin 290. With the cam pin 290resting in the narrow portion 307 of the flaring slot 305, theescapement lever 295 is rotated back and forth around the fulcrum 300.

The escapement pin 296 of the escapement lever 205 entering theescapernent slot 297 of the escapement wheel 298 causes the escapementwheel 2% to oscillate back and forth.

The time delay thus obtained is a function of the inertia of theescapement' Wheel 2955 and the escapement lever 295 which, owing to theeccentric movement of the cam pin 200, must move in one direction, cometo rest, move in an opposite direction, come to rest once more, andrepeat this operation continuously as the main operating shaft 270 ofthe timing mechanism is rotated.

The inertia of these elements thus provides the time delay. Similarly,when the exterior rotative force on the main operating shaft 270 of thetiming mechanism is released, the main spring 221 rotates the elementsin an opposite direction to reset the operating shaft 270 back to itsoriginal position, being delayed, however, by the escapernent lever 295and the escapement wheel 2%, the inertia of which owing to constantchange of direction of movement must be overcome at each change ofdirection of movement.

It will be obvious that the longer the period of each oscillation ofescapement lever 295 and escapement wheel 298, the greater the timedelay and the shorter the period of oscillation, the smaller the timedelay.

For this purpose, the fulcrum 300 is made shiftable vertically. With thefulcrum 300 in the lower position as shown in Figures 19 and 20, fulltime delay is achieved.

As the fulcrum 300 is raised, the flared portion 306 of the slot 305moves into registry with the cam pin 290 so that the cam pin 290oscillates the lever 295 only at the right and left extreme position,its rotation thereby oscillating it through a shorter period. Thisperiod decreases as the flared portion 306 of the slot 350 whichregisters with the cam pin 290 is widened by raising of the fulcrum 300of the escapement lever 295.

In addition to the decreased period of oscillation, the power ratio ofescapement pin 296 with respect to escapement wheel 298 is increasedsince as the fulcrum 300 of the escapement lever 295 is raised, theescapement pin 296 rises in slot 297 of the escapement wheel to anincreased distance away from the pivot 299 of the escapement wheel.

Consequently, the net inertia of the escapement wheel 298 is decreasedor rather the net effect of inertia owing to the increase in the powerratio above referred to is decreased.

When the fulcrum 300 is raised to a point where the full flared portion306 of the flaring slot 305 registers with the cam pin 290, the cam pin290 does not engage the escapement lever at all during its rotation andoperating shaft 270 may rotate even in response to external force or inresponse to its spring 271 free of the time delay effected by theescapement lever 295 and escapement wheel 298.

To accomplish the shift in fulcrum 300 which varies the time delayafforded by the timing mechanism 260, the timer adjustment arm 135 whichcarries the fulcrum 300 is pivotally mounted on the cross pin 310carried between plates 261 and 262. A coil spring 311 biases the end ofthe timer adjustment arm which carries the fulcrum 300 downwardly. Theouter end of timer adjustment arm 135 has the reduced diameter section312 which receives the slot 156 of the timer adjustment fork 31.

As the timer adjustment fork 31 operates in response to rotation ofarmature 28 in a manner previously described to move the end 312 of thetimer adjustment arm 135 down, the fulcrum 300 of the escapement lever295 is raised to decrease the time delay afforded by the timingmechanism 260.

If timer adjustment fork 31 is not rotated to pull down the timeradjustment arm 135, then the condition shown in Figures 19 and 20prevails, in which full time delay is achieved.

An adjustable stop member 315 riding in slot 316 is provided againstwhich the inner end 317 may rest to predetermine the maximum time delay.The higher the adjustable stop 315 is raised, the shorter the maximumtime delay period and, therefore, the faster the reclosing operation.

The adjustable stop rides on the inside of plate 262, being guided inslot 316 and a clamping screw 320 extending through the slot 316 intothe adjustable stop 315 is provided, the said clamping screw having awider portion which may engage the portion of the exterior surface ofthe plate 262 defining the slot 316, the material defining the slot 316being thus captured between the stop 315 and the clamping screw 320. Theclamping screw 320 has an extension 321 passing to the left of theadjustable stop 315 with respect to Figure 20 on which the end 317 ofthe timer adjustment arm 135 rests.

Thus, the stop 315 and particularly extension 321 of clamping screw 320determines the maximum time delay of the timing mechanism 260, whilefork arm 31 on operating arm 135 in response to the attraction ofarmature 28 determines the variations from this maximum time delay inthe manner previously described.

The screw 320 is readily accessible in order to raise and lower the stop315 and the extension 321 to adjust the maximum time delay. If, for anyreason, it should be desired that no variation in the time delay shouldoccur, irrespective of the degree of energization or attraction ofarmature 28, then extension 321 320 may be anchored into slot 322 timeradjustment arm 135.

This will prevent movement of the timer adjustment arm 135 and of thefulcrum 300 away from its adjusted position.

By this means, therefore, a simplified timing mechanism is providedwhich will time delay the rotation of operating shaft 270 in onedirection by an exterior force and which will correspondingly time delaythe return of operating shaft 270 to its original position under theinfluence of the main spring 271.

As previously described in connection with the schematic view of Figures1, 5 to 12 and 21 to 24, the timing mechanism controls the rotation ofthe timer shaft which carries the reclosing time delay ratchet 102 andthe lock-out ratchet 120.

The connecting pin 275 carried by the main operating shaft 270 of thetiming mechanism engages the fork 325 in the crank arm 326 carried bythe timer shaft 110. The timer shaft 110, as previously described,carries the reclosing time delay ratchet 102, being connected thereto inany suitable manner.

The lock-out ratchet is provided with a plurality of openings 327 andsecuring screws 328. The reclosing time delay ratchet is provided with apair of eccentric openings 329. The lock-out ratchet 120 is carried bythe reclosing time delay ratchet 102, the angular position of thelock-out ratchet 120 being shiftable with respect to the reclosing timedelay ratchet 102 and the timer shaft 110 in order to predetermine thenumber of reclosures before a lock-out may occur.

This shift of the lock-out ratchet 120 is obtained by lining upappropriate openings 327 in the lock-out ratchet 120 with the openings327 in the reclosing time delay ratchet 102 and interconnecting theratchet 120 and 102 by screws 328 and appropriate bolts.

As previously pointed out, whether or not the time delay on firstreclosure will be obtained is determined by the initial angular positionof the reclosing time delay ratchet 102 as shown in Figures 21 and 22.

For this purpose, gear 280 on main operating shaft 270 of the timer isprovided with a pin 329 and the wall 262 of the timing mechanism carriesthe latch 330 pivotally mounted on the lower right-hand bolt 263 withrespect to Figure 19.

Latch 330 carries the clamping screw 331 passing through the slot 332 inwall 262. The latch member 330 may be adjusted either to the position ofFigure 21 or to the position of Figure 22.

When it is adjusted so that pin 329 rests in the detent 333, then theangular position of the main operating shaft 270 and the timer shaft 110is adjusted so that the first reclosure is time delayed.

When it is adjusted so that pin 329 rests against the end 334 of latch330, then the angular position of the main operating shaft 270, timershaft 110 and the reclosing time delay latch 102 is adjusted so that thefirst reclosure is instantaneous.

After the first full reclosure occurs, the engagement of pawl tooth 104against teeth 107a will provide the short time delay between thereclosing of the contacts of the automatic recloser (disengagement oflatch roller 77 from latch 113) and the full resetting of the timer arm57 which permits reopening to occur.

As shown in'Figures 23 and 24. the angular position of teeth 127 of thelock-out ratchet 120 determines the number of reclosures after which alock-out will occur. Where the lock-out ratchet 120 is secured to theratchet 102 so that the teeth 127 are closer to the pawl tooth 122, thenthe lock-out will occur after relatively fewer reclosures.

When the teeth 127 are adjusted so that they are relatively further frompawl tooth 122, then lock-out will occur after. a relatively largernumber of reclosures.

The setting of Figure 23 shows the position of the lock-out ratchet 120for a lock-out after two reclosures and the setting of Figure 24 showsthe position of lockout ratchet 120 for a lock-out after threereclosures.

If no lock-out at all is desired, then the lock-out ratchet 120 needmerely be removed by removal of screws 323.

Figures 2, 2a, 4, l3, l4 and 15 show one adaptation of my presentinvention to the recloser shown in application Serial No. 113,371, filedAugust 31, 1941.

of clamping screw at the end 317 of Lock-outlateh 251'. is provided witha biasingcspring 901 attached at point 904. The biasing =springt901 518provided with a pull ring 902-which is adapted to engage hook 903. Ringhook 903 is rigidly mounted on the recloser housing 340 as noted inFigure '8.

In the position of Figures 2a and 4, the biasing spring 901 is mountedon latch 251 and hangs downwardly under the=force of gravity. in thisposition it exerts no force on the lookout latch 251 since the hook ring902 is not attached. It is only-when the ring 902 is in engagement withhook 903 that the spring 901 is tensioned to exert a clockwise bias onthe lock-out latch 251.

When it is desired to have the recloser adjustedso that on theoccurrence of a fault current the recloser will be locked open on firstopening, the operatorwill pull hook ring 902 over hook ring 903. Thisoperation will have no effect on the position of the various componentsof the recloser when it is -in a closed position as observed in Figure2a The latch 251 is held in its up position due to the contact betweenpin 245 and detent arm 254. On the occurrence of a fault .current,contact separation will cause clockwise rotation of the shaft 205,rigidly mounted crank arm 231 and its associated pins 230,245.

Since the detent arm 254 is urged against pin 245, the latch 251 willrotate in a clockwise direction under the influence of lock-out spring901. Thus, when the recloser has reached its contact open position, thedetent 254 of latch 451 will be in engagement with thepin 245 which'willlockthe circuit breaker in an open position.

Thus, the desired protection for the lineman has been achieved sincefurther operation of the recloser is prevented by this latchingoperation.

It should be noted that the recloser may be returned to a closedposition in the same manner as heretofore described in connection with amanually opened recloser, that is, when the locked open condition is aresult of the mechanical latch between detent 254 and pin 245.

This should be distinguished from the case heretofore mentioned wherebylock-out occurs as a result of rotation of timer shaft 110 to a positionwhere lock-out pawl 121 engages the teeth 127 of lock-out pawl 120. Inthis case the spring ring 901 is not in engagement with the ring hook903.

As a result of this condition, the recloser can only be manually closedby first pulling down on the reset ring 235 to permit timer mechanism 42to rotate timer shaft 110 and then lifting latch extension 255 torelease latching of detent 254 and pin 245 so that spring 512 can drivethe contacts closed.

As hereinbefore'mentioned, the adaptation of my present invention servesto protect a working lineman from a multiplicity of flash-overs duringthe continued opening and reclosing operations which occur on faultcurrents.

' Thus, the lineman has only to engage his hook stick in ring 902 andengage it with hook 903 to protect himself while working on a live line.If no fault or short circuits should occur while he is working, upon thecompletion of his job he may again use his hook stick to release thering 902 from hook 903 and return the recloser to the normal condition.The recloser is then again in condition to perform its predeterminednumber of open and close operations on the occurrence of fault current.

When a fault current occurs after the lineman has engaged hook ring 902over hook 903, the initial clockwise rotation of the lock-out latch 251from the position of Figure 13 to the position of Figure 15 will be dueto the pull of spring 901. The recloser is locked open as shown inFigure l5 and lock-out latch 251 is held in position by means of thelatch with pin 245.

The ring 902 may be disengaged from the hook 903 and the recloser willremain in a locked-open position. After fault current subsides, therecloser may be returned to its closed position by pushing up on theextension 255 of latch 251. The recloser will now be prepared to performa predetermined number of opening and closing operations on theoccurrence of a fault current.

- 'It will be observed that if a lock-out occurs while ring 902 isengaged with hook 903, it is not necessary to disengage these twoelements before resetting the recloser to closed position.

To close the recloser contacts, the extension 255 can be 'pushed up,overcoming the force of spring 901, to the closed position. The recloserwill now be in acondition forinstantaneous opening to a locked-openposition on the occurrence of a fault current.

Figure 25 shows a modification of my present inven tion. Mounted overthe belleville washer or friction spring 253 is a spiral spring 905which tends to bias the latch 251 in a clockwise direction.

counteracting the clockwise bias of spring 905 is ten= sion spring 906which is attached by a ring 907 to the hook 914 rigidly mounted onhousing 200. Spiral spring 905'and tension spring 906 are of equal andopposite force when the latch 251 is in the closed position noted I inFigure 2a.

This arrangement of counteracting springs will permit the operation ofthevrecloser with all the time delay features heretofore mentioned.

When the lineman wishes to adjust the recloser so that itwill lock openafter the first instantaneous opening, the ring 907 of tension spring906 is removed fromitsassociated hook 914 on housing 200. This will notaffect the. position of latch 251 because of the continued en gagementbetween latch arm 254 and pin 245.

On the occurrence of a fault current, shaft 205 will be rotated in aclockwise direction and will carry with it the crank 231 and crank pin245. Under the influence of spiral spring 905, the latch 251 will rotateclockwise so that continuous engagement between the latch hook 25.4 andextension 245 is ensured.

This operation will permit the mechanical lock-out of the recloserfollowing a first instantaneous opening ,and will be entirelyindependent of the timer mechanism 92.

It should be noted that when the latch 251 has been mechanically rotatedclockwise to its open positionan Imbalance exists between the stretchedtension spring 906 and the relaxed spiral spring 905. The detent 254 andpin 245 are so constructed that the latch holdiwill be sufficient tocounteract this unbalanced force and maintain the latch 251 in the openposition.

When the lineman has completed repair work to the power lines andwishesto place the recloser in the closed contact position, the latch 251 islifted by means of extension 255 upward as heretofore mentioned.

A further modification of my invention to permit lockout following firstinstantaneous opening is illustrated. in Figures 26, 26a and 26b. 1

The latch 251 is provided with a belleville washer 253 as was previouslynoted. However, an additional recess 910 must be provided in the latch251 for this modification. The small recess 910 is provided to receivethe extension 911 of the leaf spring 909. Leaf spring 909 may be rigidlymounted at its end 913 to the housing 200 or any other suitablelocation.

A further addition in construction is noted in Figures 26 and 26b wherethe beveled extension 912 is rigidly attached to the ring pin 237. Apermanently attached tensioned spring 914 is attached between annularwall 202 and the lock-out latch 251 and tends to. bias latch 251 in aclockwise direction.

V-lever structure 917 is added to this embodiment. V-lever 917 ispivoted at 916 and has a friction spring 915 which holds the lever inany position due. to the friction of the spring against the lever. Theshaft at pivot 916 is rigidly mounted to the annular wall 202.or anyother suitable location.

Arm 918 is provided with a ring 920 which may be engaged and moved bymeans of a hook stick. The other arm 919 of V-lever 917 is provided witha beveled surface to wedge between latch 251 and leaf spring 909 whenthe ring 920 is pulled down.

When the unit is to be operated as an automatic recloser with apredetermined number of openingand closing operations with proper timedelay, the V-lever 917 is in the position noted in Figure 26. Theoperation of the recloser in this position is as heretofore described.

The extension 911 of the leaf spring 909 is in engagement with therecess 910 of the latch 251, locking the latch 251 in position toprevent its rotation under the influence of spring 914.

As a result of this locking action, there is no movement of the lock-outlatch 251 during the automatic opening and closing operations.

After the automatic recloser has locked open, the contactsmay bemechanically closed by the same procedure as heretofore mentioned. Anextension stick is inserted in ring 236 and pulled downward so that thereset lever 235, pin 237 and crank ar.1 i 240 are all pulled downward.The beveled extension 912 on pin 237 is thus wedged between the latch251 and the leaf spring 909 by this movement of the ring 236 as noted inFigure 2611.

Thus, the leaf spring 909 is moved away from the latch 251 which permitsextension 911 to be removed from the recess 910. This unlocks the latch251 and permits it to rotate clockwise under the influence of the forceexerted by the pin 237 of the reset lever 235 which is being pulled downby the operator.

As previously described, this procedure locks the controls open due tothe engagement between pin 245 and extension 255 and permits the timermechanism 92 to rotate shaft I to proper position.

By pushing up the extension 255, the contacts are again closed andextension 911 of leaf spring 909 again engages the recess 910 to lockthe latch 251 in the up position of Figure 45a.

When the recloser is to be arranged for lock-out following the firstinstantaneous opening, the V-lever 917 is rotated clockwise by insertinga stick in ring 920 and pulling downward. This permits the beveled arm919 to wedge between the latch 251 and leaf spring 909. This permits theextension 911 to be removed from the recess 910 as noted in Figure 26a.

Although the latch 251 is being biased clockwise by the tensioned spring914, it is held in the position of Figure 26 due to engagement of latcharm 2:55 and pin 24:3. Occurrence of a fault current will cause downwardmovement of pin 245. Latch 251, under the influence of the force frombias spring 914, will rotate clockwise to fol w this downward movementand cause a lock-out due to the engagement of detent 254, latch 255 andpin 2455 in a down or clockwise position.

At the discretion of the operator, the V-lever 917 may be returned toits normal position (see Figure 26) either before or after themechanical closing operation.

In summary, it will be observed that the modifications noted in Figures2a, 25 and 26 all provide for two types of reclosure operation. When thehook ring 902 of Figure 2a is not engaged, when the hook ring 907 ofFigure 25 is engaged, when pull ring 920 is not pulled down (Figure 26),the recloser will operate with all the time delay features apredetermined number of openings and closings and with all of theadvantages previously noted.

It is only when the lineman wishes to protect himself against exposureto several occurrences of arcing of long duration with great hazard tohimself that the hook ring 902 is latched with hook latch 903 of Figure2a, ring 907 is disengaged from the hook of the modification in Figure25 or pull ring 920 of Figure 26 is pulled down. Thus, under thiscondition instantaneous opening and lock-out will occur during faultcurrent flow, thus preventing the lineman from being exposed tocontinuous arcing.

In the foregoing I have described my invention solely in connection withspecific illustrative embodiments thereof. Since many variations andmodifications of my invention will now be obvious to those skilled inthe art, I prefer to be bound not by the specific disclosures hereincontained but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a reclosing circuit breaker having a pair of cooperable contacts,at least one of said contacts being normally automatically operable inresponse to overloads to open and closed position a predetermined numberof times, manual switch opening means, operating means connected to andcontrolled by said manual means to move and latch said one contact inopen position, said operating means including a member movable with eachautomatic opening and closing of said contact and having a latchengaging means movable therewith, the connection of said manual openingmeans with said operating means being a one way connection normallyinefiective during the automatic operation of the one contact, a latchmovable with said manual opening means engageable with said latchengaging means upon operation of said manual opening means, meansconnecting said latch with said latch engaging means and positionable tobias said latch into engagement with said latch engaging means upon anautomatic operation of said operating means, said means connecting saidlatch with said latching engaging means being readily disconnectable soas to render said latch inefiective to latch open an automatic openingmovement of said one contact.

2. In a reclosing circuit bzeaker for protecting an electric circuithaving a pair of cooperable contacts, means for biasing said contactsinto engagement, electromagnetic means responsive to a fault currentcondition in, the electric circuit for operating at least one of saidcontacts into disengagement against the action of said biasing means, afirst latch for automatically latching said contacts in disengagedposition, means controlled after the disengagement of said contacts forremoving said first latch, said contacts being thereupon operated intoengagement by said biasing means when said fault current circuit isopened, means operative after disengagement and engagement of saidcontacts has been repeated a predetermined number of times for renderingsaid first latch removing means ineffective to release said latch forthereupon locking said contacts in disengaged positions, and manualswitch opening means, operating means connected to and controlled bysaid manual means to move and latch said one contact in open positionafter one automatic opening operation, said operating means including amember movable with each automatic opening and closing of said contactand having a latch engaging means movable therewith, the connection ofsaid manual opening means with said operating means being a one wayconnection normally ineffective during the automatic operation of theone contact, a second latch movable with said manual opening meansengageable with said latch engaging means upon operation of said manualopening means, means connecting said second latch with said latchengaging means and positionable to bias said second latcn intoengagement WILD said latch engaging means upon an automatic operation orsaid operating means, said means connecting said second late-n with saidlate-n engaging means being readily disconnectaoie so as to render saidlatch mertective to latch open an automatic opening movement or said onecontact.

3. In a reclosing circuit breaker for protecting an electric circuithaving a pair or cooperaoie contacts, means for biasing said contactsinto engagement, electromagnetic means responsive to a fault currentCOflClltlOfi in the electric circuit Ior operating at least one or saidcontacts into disengagement against the action or said biasing means, ahrst latch tor automatically latching said contacts in disengagedposition, means controlled after the disengagement or said contacts forremoving said first latch, said contacts being thereupon operated intoengagement Dy said biasin means when said i'ault current circuit isopened, means operative after disengagement and engagement of saidcontacts has been repeated a predetermined number of times for renderingsaid first latch removing means inli'ective to release said first latchfor thereupon locking said contacts in disengaged positions, andmanually operable means for effecting latching of said contacts indisengaged position by a second latch after the first automaticdisengagement of said contacts, a manual operable member for operatingsaid second latch to latch said contacts in disengaged position by saidsecond latch after manual disengagement of said contacts.

4. In a reclosing circuit for protecting an electric circuit having apair of cooperable contacts, means for biasing said contacts intoengagement, electromagnetic means responsive to a fault currentcondition in the electric circuit for operating said contacts intodisengagement against the action of said biasing means, a first latchfor latching said contacts in disengaged position, means controlled bythe disengagement for removing said first latch, said contacts beingthereupon operated into engagement by said biasing means when said faultcurrent circuit is opened, means operative after disengagement andengagement of said contacts has been repeated a predetermined number oftimes for rendering said first latch removing means ineffective torelease said first latch for thereupon locking said contacts indisengaged positions, and manually operable means for effecting latchingof said contacts in disengaged position by a second latch after thefirst automatic disengagement of said contacts, a manual operable memberfor operating said second latch; an operating member movable with eachautomatic opening and closing of said one contact, a one way connectionfrom said manual member to said operating member normally inefiectiveduring the automatic operation of said one contact, said second latchbeing movable by said manual operable member to maintain said onecontact latched open after the first manual operation thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent Number UNITED STATES PATENTSName Date Valkenburg Oct. 26, 1926 Wallace June 20, 1944 Lincks et a1.Jan. 21, 1947 Wallace et a1. Oct. 4, 1949 Thumim June 3, 1952

